Saturday, October 29, 2011

After 3 very long and exhausting months, we opened the shop in Uptown Westerville yesterday for Midnight Madness. It was sooo much fun to be able to fill our bakery case and see so many wonderful people at the shop. I had totally meant to post BEFORE we opened, but things have been so unbelievably crazy!

Now that we got Midnight Madness out of the way, we'll decide on some regular hours and post them very soon. We will have cupcakes, cookies, and other treats available for walk-in customers, as well as continuing our special order cakes and cookies.

Here's a few shots of the new shop. It's located at 20 South State Street, Suite H (behind Java Central). Our new phone number is 614-523-2400. Website and email will remain the same.

Our new display case, filled with goodies for Midnight Madness...

A shot of our very wide-open kitchen...

And if you'd like to see more...well, stop in and pick up a cupcake. Or two...we have rent to pay now! :) Also, if you haven't "liked" our Facebook page yet, that would be a great way to keep up with specials, daily menu, etc.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

I had such a fun week this week. I did a cake that I think is my new favorite! Even the little smash cake was so much fun to do. The base cake is our white almond sour cream with chocolate ganache filling. The ladybug cake is our white almond sour cream with strawberry filling. Two of my favorite combinations! Have a wonderful 1st birthday, Evey!

And Julia is turning 13, so her mom ordered cupcakes to bring to the event. I matched the stand to the cupcakes.

And a baptism cake for Samuel....

My mom was down for a visit a few weeks ago. We came over to visit the Westerville shop, as she hadn't seen it yet. Here is the prettiest picture of my mom with her great-granddaughter, Emma!

We've been working on some new flavors, for when we eventually get the shop opened! Let me know what you think!

First off, raspberry swirl cake with raspberry icing.

And Smores Cupcakes - we did this one with white cake with marshmallows and chunks of Hershey's chocolate baked into the batter. Topped with marshmallow icing and graham cracker crumbs. It was excellent, but I'm thinking we'll try a version with chocolate cake to compare. We love taste testing! :)

We also had an order for some wedding cupcakes. Congratulations Amelia!!!

And of course, my favorite little cupcake got her newborn pictures back, so I have to throw a few of those in! :)

Monday, September 19, 2011

I sincerely apologize for how behind I've gotten with updating the website and the blog! This is a busy time of year with specialty cakes and wedding cakes, plus we're attempting to get the shop in Westerville opened by the end of October. And of course, I have my beautiful new granddaughter, Emma, who requires lots of snuggle time with her grandma! But I'll save my excuses and get onto the cakes!

This was a unique one for me. Generally I make "cute" cakes, so to make something look more realistic and fierce was a challenge for me. My wonderful daughter, Chelsey, helped alot with sculpting and painting various pieces on this one. Everything on the entire cake is edible, including the dice and the figurine.

We also did an adorable "baby album" cake for this past weekend, with cupcakes to match.

And some Lego cupcakes....

We've also been doing some experimenting with new cupcake flavors for the shop, but I'll save those for another post! And of course, I can't go without giving everyone an Emma update! My adorable granddaughter is doing fantastic! She's up to 6lbs, 9ozs, and we are so proud of our big girl! She is SUCH a joy to have around!!!!!

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Yesterday was our last farmers market of the season. :( We had gorgeous weather and a fantastic turn out. Thank you sooo much to everyone who came out faithfully every week, especially in the heat we've had this summer. It was a wonderful season!

And since it was our last one, we thought we should try out some new recipes. Our favorite was this one...white cake with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups baked into the batter, buttercream icing, chocolate drizzle, and more crushed Reese's on top. Can you say yum?!

We also did some cute princess cupcakes last week. The crowns on top are molded out of white chocolate. Two treats in one! :)

And the cake to match:

And, we are finally on Facebook! Once the shop is open, we'll be able to update it daily with our cupcake selections of the day. Until then, we'll keep posting cake pictures and "in progress" shots of the shop. Here's the link:

And because I'm a new grandma, and just can't possibly resist any opportunity to show off my granddaughter, here's a recent picture of her. She's up to 4 lbs, 14oz! We're looking forward to her hitting the 5 lb mark! :)

Thursday, August 25, 2011

And I have to brag...I am getting the most incredible gift anybody could've given me. My granddaughter, Emma, is coming home today!!!! After three weeks in the hospital, my sweet girl is finally being sprung! :) She was born six weeks early and weighed 3 lbs, 14 oz. Three weeks later, she's up to 4lbs, 8 oz, and is doing great! Happy Birthday to me!!!! :)

In the meantime, we are still plugging away at getting the shop in Westerville opened. We ran into some unexpected snags with the city code, but are working through them one by one. After quite a struggle, we have the display case in, and our refrigerator and freezer were delivered as well. FAR from done, but here's a peek....

At this point, we're hoping to be open in six weeks or so. Patience is a virtue, right?! That is NOT one of my gifts, but we're hanging in there. :)

Saturday, August 13, 2011

See, I told you I actually had real work this weekend! :) Between visiting my sweet grandbaby Emma, working on cakes, and working on this shop, this has been one heck of a week. Productive though...the shop floor is finally done, which means we can start moving in equipment, etc, while we await the many required inspections. My hubby is there as I type, putting the trim back up, so I'll take pictures next time I'm out. It's looking good!

I had so much fun making this cake. For some reason, modeled monkeys have always been a little difficult for me. They never seem to look just quite right. So I was very happy when this one turned out exactly as I had hoped! Thank you for the order Tiffany...I'll see you in October!

Another fun order for Rachel, for her daughter's 7th birthday. Rachel really trusted me as far as design goes, so I hope she likes it!

And an order for a great customer, Liz. Liz actually just finished up the work on my new logo, business card, and label. Wait until you see them! It all looks amazing!!!!

And an order for the Clark family, who will be very happy when I open the shop, as they drive from the Westerville area to get their cakes now!

And that's it! I'm off to drag my daughter out of the hospital for a good meal and to snuggle with my grandbaby for awhile! Hopefully I'll have some updates on the shop to share by Monday. Have a great weekend!!!

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

So, I FINALLY got to hold my grandbaby!!! I've been waiting patiently - okay, semi patiently - for permission to hold her. I totally understand that they have to put Emma's needs first. But of course, I've been aching to hold that sweet little girl. So I finally got my chance last night! Emma and I got to spend 20 minutes cuddled together, while I talked non-stop about anything and everything. She seemed to like the sound of my voice (I don't know why the rest of my family doesn't feel the same way!), and spent the entire time looking at me and making the most adorable little faces. :)

And I suppose, since this is still my cake blog (I think), I may post a picture of some cookies we did recently! :) We mailed 9 dozen of these to Georgia. The trucks were made to look like the party invitations.

And I would share more pictures, but between working on the new shop, vacation, and a new grandbaby, I haven't been doing a whole lot of paying work! :) I am super busy this week though, so I swear I will actually have something cake related to share.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Sooo...life never does turn out like you expect. My hubby and I left last Thursday on vacation. We were going down to North Carolina to attend an ICES convention (cake convention...yes, they have them!). I planned on posting all sorts of fantastic vacation pictures when we got back. But, like I said, life doesn't turn out how you expect.

Friday morning, my daughter Tessa, decided to go into premature labor. You can imagine my shock and dismay when I realized I was going to miss the entire thing! I was 8 hours away, and there was no way I was going to make it there. Luckily, my mom and my daughter were with Tessa, so she had a great support system with her. And the fantastic medical team at Southview Hospital actually let my mom keep her cell phone on during the entire operation, so I got to hear the entire thing, including little Emma Ann's first cries!

So, instead of vacation pictures, you get something much, much better....baby pictures!!!!! :)

Emma Ann was born on Friday, August 5th. She weighs in at 3 pounds, 14 ounces. She's a little one, but she is a little fighter. She's breathing on her own, she's digesting her mom's milk, and we're so hoping we'll be able to bring her home in a couple of weeks.

So, on to Emma Ann! As a new grandma, you just have to know I'm going to post a ton of pictures!!!!! This is my very favorite picture of her. She's so adorable with her little eyes open. And you have to catch it quick, since the girl really does like her sleep!

After she was born, they did have her on oxygen for a little while. Although she didn't need it, she was breathing on her own, it was just a precaution. Now she just has a little IV to help her with fluids and vitamins.

And I love, love, love her little chicken legs. (Although we'll be much happier when they're big, chunky, baby legs, since then she'll be able to come home!!!)

And once I FINALLY got to the hospital, we were able to go into the nursery and watch Tessa hold her baby for the very first time. What an amazing experience!

This is one of those times, where I am just so overcome with how proud I am of my entire family. My mother was with Tessa every step of the way. She filled in when I couldn't be there, and she's the only person I could've trusted my baby to. My daughter Chelsey was also with Tessa the entire time. She recorded every second, she provided Tessa with anything she could possibly need after the surgery, and was such a huge help to her sister. My wonderful husband, who didn't mind one single bit that we left behind our paid-for vacation to get home, and was just as anxious as me to be with our new granddaughter. And Tessa - who is so incredibly strong and is going to be such a wonderful mother. Emma is one lucky little girl!

About Me

My name is Brenda, and I own Brenda's Cakes in West Jefferson, Ohio. Originally from Michigan, we relocated to Ohio about 4-1/2 years ago for my husband's job. I spent some time working for Jan Kish of LaPetite Fleur and learned so much. I now work from my home but plan to open a retail location in Hilliard, Ohio very soon!
On a personal note, I've been married to my wonderful husband for 16 years. I have two amazing daughters. My oldest daughter, Tessa, is in the National Guard and will begin attending college shortly. My youngest daughter, Chelsey, is in her first year of college at Columbus State, with plans to become a veterinarian. I couldn't be more proud of them both!